There are number of applications, including retail and grocery stores, which are interested in improving their service and reduce operating costs. The current trend to achieve the objectives is mainly focused on improving tracking of the merchandize within the store environment. There is an increased trend to use barcode labels and RFID devices to be attached to packing of the merchandize, and then use respective devices to track their location within a store, as needed. The RFID devices are still relatively expensive vs. the costs of most merchandize it could be assigned to. In addition, significant amount of RFID devices within an enclosed facility, such as a store, could have a negative impact on the environment. Also, there is a challenge to attach an RFID to some packaged products such as: vegetables, fruits, etc. Customers, in order to gain access to automatic machines, may be required to provide identification and enter a secret pass-code. There is a growing concern in terms of safety and quality of products, such as vegetables—being presented to a customer in a format, which could be influenced by bacteria deposited either directly by previous customer, or indirectly—by bacteria within the inadequately controlled environment surrounding the item. In addition, with increasing demand for organic products, compliance to respective item specification requirements is highly important, since organic products, in general, compared to chemically treated products, are less resistant in retaining their quality when specifications are not complied to. Non-compliance to product specifications, even during a short period of time, could impact quality, including longevity, of an organic product. Organic products are, in general, more expensive and customers are entitled to be able to purchase them at their best quality.
The invention provides solution for significant improvements of quality of service utilizing innovative and unique technologies, which are user-friendly, environmentally safe and cost efficient. The invention will describe unique Apparatus, consisting of several major components, including: Modules with items, Controllers which monitor and maintain quality of items inside Modules, as well as their availability for purchase by Customers; Card with Embedded Electronics, Mechanical and Barcode Identifications (SHOPPING CARD), which is used by Customers to gain access to items inside Modules and complete item transactions; and the same Card which could be configured to allow a store controller to navigate Customer within the store to complete selected or created shopping list within the shortest time possible. The Apparatus could be configured in real-time as stand-alone, or integrated with other Apparatuses into a network, where all transactions of items are monitored by controller. The invention will help number of businesses to improve service and reduce operating costs, while maintaining user-friendly and environmentally safe environment. The invention offers unique combination of features, which could be configured in real-time, as needed, to allow a business to provide the most effective, efficient, safe and reliable service. The invention simplifies access of customers to restricted or authorized machines (modules) or sections, by utilization of a single Card with multiple identification features as described in this application. The Apparatus of the invention includes controllers, which will monitor, analyze and record behavior of the Card within a designated location (store), including Transactions executed, and in real-time execute controls, which will impact the ability of the Card to execute specific Transactions in the location (store), with the objective to sustain secured, reliable and efficient operation of the business at the location (store). The Apparatus could be configured to provide real-time navigation of a Customer with Shopping Card within a store location with an objective to complete purchases of items selected by Customer on a Shopping List within set criteria, such as: minimum time. Controllers of the Apparatus store in the non-volatile data base data, including: configurations of the Apparatus, including individual devices of the Apparatus; real-time item transactions; customer authorized configurations and history, including: shopping lists, navigation history, payment information.